Speed
by The Phantom-Otaku
Summary: When Izuku got a job at a local cafe, he never imagined that he would re-spark a girl's dream to be a hero.
1. Chapter 1

**I have finally gotten this done! I've been meaning to write this, and I'm excited to share this with everyone. Special thanks to those who drew sketches of the characters in this story! Those people are, StarAmulet, Pollar-Bear-Alley, Mamioli, Artistgirl5935, Wolffang Comics, MaxTheSlasher, and Micro-Zen! All of these people are on Devianart, and they all have very awesome art. The cover art for this story was drawn by ArtistGirl5935.** **One thing that I should say before the story starts is that this is set before Izuku meets All Might and inherits One for All from him.** **I hope you enjoy the story!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own My Hero Academia. I only own the OCs.**

* * *

Izuku picked up the nearly empty glass off of the table before he wiped it down with a cloth. He walked into the kitchen and set the dirty glass into the sink and tossed the dirty rag into a bin. Midoriya sighed in exhaustion. "Don't rest just yet," a voice warned. The boy looked up and saw the assistant manager, Emica Ito. "Your break isn't for another ten minutes," she said, wagging her finger playfully.

"Yes, I know," Izuku replied.

"Come on, just a little bit longer, and then you can rest a bit," Emica encouraged. Izuku looked up at her and smiled. She was a very sweet lady, but boy was she stern. Emica's head turned towards the door as the bell jingled. A girl with red hair, cat-like ears, and a tail walked through the door. The thing that caught Izuku's eye was the All Might shirt that she wore. "Oh, I better go get her order," Emica said. "Midoriya, the people at table three just left," she said, pointing over to the table.

He nodded and walked over to the table. He had gotten this job to help his mother. It didn't pay very well, but he had just started only a week ago. Izuku cleared the table and put the dishes into the sink. After he had cleared a few other tables, Emica walked up to him, holding a cup and saucer. "Midoriya, would you like to give this to that girl over there?" she asked, pointing to the girl he had seen before.

Izuku looked at her questioningly. "Yeah, sure," he answered slowly. Emica smiled brightly before she handed him the cup and saucer. The green-haired boy walked out to her table and set the cup down.

The red-head looked up from her notebook. "Oh, thank you," she said, pulling the cup closer to her. "I've never seen you around here. What's your name?" she inquired.

"My name's Izuku Midoriya," he replied quietly. He could feel his face turning red.

"I'm Shun Sakura," she introduced. "Well, I better get back to studying."

"I, uh, noticed your shirt," he finally said timidly.

Sakura looked down at her shirt before she stretched it out so the whole thing could be seen. On the top of the shirt were the words, "The Symbol of Peace: All Might!" Underneath it was All Might with his signature smile spread across his face and his hands on his hips.

"Are you a fan of All Might too?" Sakura asked. A big smile formed on her face and her eyes lit up with excitement.

"Yeah!" Izuku replied. "I've been a fan of his since I was little!"

"He's so cool!" Sakura exclaimed. "I wish I could be a hero like him," she said, stirring her drink with a spoon.

"Well," Midoriya started, "who says you can't?"

The girl stopped stirring her drink and looked up. "What?"

"Who says you can't be a hero?" he repeated.

"I don't know," she responded. "I've just never seriously considered being a hero- not for a long time anyway. My quirk really isn't suited for hero work in the first place." Shun's eyes flicked down to her cup and she took a sip.

"What's your quirk?" Izuku questioned. His eyes widened as he realized how rude that might sound. "If you don't mind me asking!" he added frantically.

Shun giggled. "I don't mind," she said nonchalantly. "My quirk is called Speedster. I can run at inhuman speeds," the red-head explained.

"Wow, that sounds pretty cool!" Izuku exclaimed.

Shun glanced up, surprised. Her cheeks turned a light shade of red. "No one's ever told me that before," she muttered.

"Really?" he asked with genuine surprise. "That quirk would be amazing for hero work," the green-haired boy added. "Do you have a top speed?"

"Yeah," Sakura responded. "Last time I checked, my top speed was two-hundred, fifty-eight miles per hour." The way she said it made it sound like it wasn't that big of a deal.

"Whoa! That's fast!" Izuku commented.

"Yeah, but if I run at my top speed for too long, then I become too tired to move a muscle," she added sheepishly. "So what about you?" she asked.

"What do you mean?" Izuku replied confusedly.

"Like, your quirk," Shun corrected.

Izuku's gaze turned downward. "I… I don't have a quirk…," he replied quietly.

Shun gasped and held her hand over her mouth. "I'm so sorry for asking!" she apologized. "It must be terrible!"

"It's fine," Midoriya said. "I might not have a quirk, but I still want to be a hero." Shun stared at the boy. She wanted to say something, but she couldn't. "People always tell me to give up, that it's never going to happen, but I'm not going to let go of my dream. I'll keep trying no matter what!" he finished. A look of realization came over his face. "Sorry, I've got to get back to work," Izuku said quickly before he rushed off.

Shun stared at his retreating figure. There was something about what he had said that really stuck with her. Emica walked up to the table and leaned on it. "So… did you have a nice chat?" she asked. The devious smile on her face told Shun all that she needed to know.

"Oh, hush," Shun said with a dismissive wave of her hand. Emica shook her head with a chuckle before she went back to her work. Sakura finished her drink and left a tip on the table. The bell on the door jingled again as she walked out of the cafe.

As she walked, her mind dwelled on what Midoriya had said. He didn't have a quirk, but he refused to let go of his dream. Even though it seemed impossible for him to be a hero, he still wanted to be one.

Sakura came upon the front door to her home. She walked inside tiredly. "Hello sweetie!" her mother called from the kitchen.

"Hey mom!" Sakura called back. The red-head made her way to her room. Once she was inside, she threw her backpack on the floor and went over to her desk. Shun opened the bottom drawer and dug around in it before she pulled out an old notebook.

Shun blew a thin layer of dust off of the top of the notebook. "Geez, has it really been that long?" she muttered in surprise. She flipped the notebook open to see one of her old sketches. Underneath the sketch was a messy note. It read, "Great job, Kabu!"

* * *

" _Grandma, look at what I drew!" a young Sakura exclaimed, holding up her drawing proudly._

 _He grandmother looked the drawing over before she said, "It looks great, Kabu! Is it a costume?"_

" _Mhm," she nodded. "It's going to be my hero costume when I'm older," she stated proudly._

 _Her grandmother scooped her up into her arms. "You want to be a hero, too?" she asked with a smile. "I hope I can keep up with you!" Shun giggled at her grandmother's comment._

" _I'm going to have to keep up with you, grandma," Sakura said. "I'm going to be just like you when I grow up!"_

* * *

Shun smiled at the bitter-sweet memory. She shook her head and flipped through the notebook. There was at least one messy drawing on every page. There were drawings of pro heroes, potential hero costumes, and a few drawings of her parents. Sakura finally got to the end of the notebook. She flipped the last page and an envelope slipped out.

She stared at it curiously. The envelope was worn and old. Sakura broke the seal on the envelope and pulled out the note inside. The note was also old and worn, so she carefully unfolded it.

Shun recognized her grandmother's handwriting on the old letter. The letter read, "You probably already know this, but I have been injured during a fight. I wanted to write you this letter in case this injury takes my life. Kabu, even if I do die, don't lose hope. Keep working hard to achieve your dream. I want you to know something: Whether I am here with you or watching you from the sky above, I'll be cheering you on. Keep on going, my little Kabu!"

Sakura clutched the paper tightly and shook as she held back tears. It was just like her grandmother to always support her. Shun took a few deep breaths to calm herself down.

" _People always tell me to give up, that it's never going to happen, but I'm not going to let go of my dream,"_ Midoriya's words echoed in her head. He was born without a quirk. In a world of superpowers, he was born without one, but he wasn't giving up. Why should she?

Shun gave herself a minute to collect herself before she walked out of her room and into the kitchen. "Dinner's going to be ready soon," her mother said as she dashed around the kitchen.

Shun took a deep breath before she spoke. "Mom, you know when you told me to start thinking about what I want to do with my life?" she asked.

"Yes, what about it? Did you decide on something?" her mother asked, turning her full attention to her daughter.

"I think I did," Sakura answered. "I want to be a pro hero, like grandma," she said, her eyes full of determination.

* * *

 **Well, that's it for the first chapter. I hope you enjoyed reading it. I'll try to get the next chapter out as soon as I can. You can find Shun Sakura's bio on my Deviantart page. I'd link it, but isn't very friendly towards links.**


	2. Chapter 2

**I'm back with the next chapter! First of all, thank you all so much! I never expected this to get as much attention as it did, so it was a pleasant surprise. I'm so glad that you guys are enjoying the story enough to want to know what happens next. Thank you all so much! I'll try to get chapters out as soon as I can without them sucking or being short. I used some of my friend's OCs for this chapter, and they will be playing a big role throughout the next chapter. I also realized that I didn't give you guys my dA account. My dA account name is Phantom-Umbreon. You can find Shun's bio there, so you can learn more about her if you're curious.**

 **Akiko Clear belongs to Artistgirl5935.**

 **Hideko Madea belongs to Momma-Spooky.**

 **Muuyama Kuusuke belongs to japankkitty.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own My Hero Academia. I only own Shun Sakura.**

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Souma, Shun's mother, froze dead in her tracks. There was a silence between them as her mother contemplated her daughter's words. "S-Shun…" Souma managed to squeak out. Sakura's determined expression remained on her face, signalling that she wouldn't budge. "No…" her mother finally finished. Sakura's whole body tensed up at her mother's response, but she wasn't giving up that easily. "Please don't do this sweetie," Souma cried suddenly. The tone of her mother's voice made her wince, but she remained strong.

"Mom, I've been thinking about this for a long time. Please, just trust me on this," Sakura pleaded to her. She looked deep into her mother's eyes and saw fear; fear for her daughter's safety.

"I want to support you on this, Shun, but I… I'm just so scared…" Souma replied, leaning against the counter. She began to take deep breaths to calm herself down and steady her nerves.

Sakura walked over to her mother and laid a comforting hand on her back. "Mom, keep taking deep breaths," Sakura said in a gentle yet calming voice. Souma Sakura was prone to overly-dramatic performances such as this one.

The next few moments were quiet ones. The only noise was Souma's deep breaths and the noise of the oven. Finally Souma seemed to have calmed herself and said, "Shun, I just don't know about this. I just don't want to see you get hurt."

Sakura's eyes flicked down guiltily to the counter top. Her mother's worries were founded in truth. Being a hero was no easy task, nor was it a safe task. That's why her grandmother was no longer alive. "Mom, I know how dangerous it can be, but I'm willing to take that risk," Sakura pushed.

Souma pursed her lips and took a deep breath once more. "Okay, okay. Shun, if you want to be a hero, then I'll support you as best as I can," Souma choked out. "Do you know which school you want to try and get into?"

Sakura's ears flattened against her head, and her gaze shifted to the floor and she bit her lip, effectively increasing her mother's worry. "I want to go to the same school that grandmother went to," Shun stated with as steady a voice as she could muster. She winced when her mother's face whitened with horror.

"Sweetie, are you trying to give your poor mother a heart attack?" she asked dramatically, putting her hand over her heart.

"Mom, I want to be like grandmother. I want to be as amazing as she was, so I need to go to the best school," Sakura protested. "I want to try for UA."

"I don't know," Souma muttered thoughtfully as she rested her head in her hand. "I'll have to talk it over with your father."

Shun sighed in defeat. There wasn't much she could do. They were her parents after all, so if they decided that she couldn't at least try to get into UA, then she would just have to settle for whatever other school they decided on. Hopefully her father would be able to talk Souma into it.

* * *

Raijin Sakura, Shun's father, and Souma were in their room, completely alone. "What was so important that you couldn't tell me over the phone?" Raijin asked curiously. His own curiosity had been driving him mad ever since she called him.

Souma sighed before she started. "Shun finally decided what she wanted to do," she stated in a grave tone. Her eyes matched the graveness of her tone.

"That's great!" he exclaimed with joy. "What did she choose?" The minute the answer left Souma's mouth, Raijin's face fell. "She wants to be…?" His wife nodded solemnly. He let out a long, tired sigh and flopped onto the bed. "I was scared this might happen," he muttered.

"Raijin, what are we going to do?" Souma asked fearfully. "I don't want to see my baby get hurt, but I don't want to hurt her myself either." Raijin peered up and saw his wife's pleading eyes.

"We should give Shun a fair chance," he responded, surprising his wife.

"We should what?!" Souma cried dramatically.

"We should let her at least try to get into UA," Raijin repeated. Her face was once again white with horror. "Think about it, Souma. If she gets into UA, then we'll know that she can make it in UA's tough course. If she doesn't, well then…" he trailed off.

The woman seemed to think it over some. "Yeah," she said slowly. "You're right." A look over realization overtook her face. "What if she does make it into the hero course? I've heard about how dangerous it can be…" she fretted.

Raijin simply shook his head at his wife's dramatics. "If it looks like it might be getting too dangerous for her, then we'll take her out of the school. It's as simple as that," he stated, somewhat calming his wife.

Souma let out a sigh of defeat. "I guess so," she admitted reluctantly. "I should probably go deliver the good news…"

She walked to Shun's room and stopped at the door. Souma could hear her daughter pacing inside the room impatiently. She knocked on the door gingerly. "Shun?"

The pacing stopped and footsteps approached the door. The door opened, and Shun greeted her mother.

"Your father and I did some talking and…" Souma began. Sakura waited expectantly for her to continue. "We decided to let you go to UA," she sighed.

The red-head's eyes widened in surprise and shock. "R-really?!" Shun breathed. Souma nodded slowly. Shun threw her arms around her mother, surprising her, and cried, "Thank you!"

The woman couldn't help but smile at the glee in her daughter's voice. She gave Shun a squeeze. "You're welcome, sweetie."

* * *

Sakura walked into the classroom next Friday morning. She glanced at the teacher's desk; it was messy and no one was in the chair. "Hey Sakura!" a voice called. She turned to see Muuyama Kuusuke walk through the door of the classroom.

Shun had been friends with Kuusuke for a long time, ever since kindergarten in fact.

"Oh, hey Kuusuke," she responded absentmindedly. Finding the teacher was her top priority.

Muuyama noticed her unusual tone immediately. "Is something wrong? You seem off," she asked curiously.

"I didn't tell you yet, did I?" Shun realized with a sheepish smile. Muuyama's confused expression told her all she needed to know. "I'll tell you later. There's something more important that I need to do." Sakura started towards the door.

Muuyama stared at Shun's retreating form in disbelief. "What are you even talking about, Sakura?" she asked.

Sakura's tail flicked behind her playfully. "I'll tell you later!" Shun said before she exited into the hallway, leaving a confused Kuusuke behind in the classroom.

As Shun walked down the hallway, she spotted one of her other friends, Hideko Madea. Hideko had brown hair up in a partial ponytail, purple eyes, and a grouchy look on her face. Sakura had know Hideko ever since kindergarten. It was just recently when she started to act more assertive and confident. Before, she was as shy and timid as can be.

She waved to her friend and received a tired wave from her. That was her usual greeting.

Sakura continued walking down the hallway. She couldn't get distracted now. She had been waiting all week for this. Every Friday, the school offered mock test sign ups. Shun was planning on signing up for one. If she wanted to get into UA, then she'd need a start line.

The red-head walked all throughout the school, trying to find her teacher. She was on the verge of giving up when she spotted her teacher, Mrs. Cho. Mrs. Cho always had a bright smile on her face as well as a cheerful tone of voice. She always focused on the positive side of things, even in the worst situations.

"Mrs. Cho," Shun called to gain her attention.

The woman turned around to face Sakura. The woman had two big, bug-like eyes with two smaller black dots underneath, and two antennas on her head that were part of her quirk. Her quirk was pheromones. Her antennas would emit different kinds of pheromones that manipulate people's emotions. It was really great for when the class was acting too rowdy. All she had to do was use her quirk and the whole class would calm down within a minute.

"Yes Sakura?" she asked with a smile.

"I want to sign up for a mock battle," Sakura said. "I've been all over the school trying to find you."

Mrs. Cho seemed surprised. "You've never wanted to do a mock battle. What's with the sudden interest?" she asked curiously. That was another thing about Mrs. Cho. She always wanted to know everything.

"I decided that I want to try for UA," Sakura responded. "I want to get into their hero course. I've got to start somewhere, so the mock battle is the best place."

"Well, I'm glad you chose UA," she said. "They have the best hero course in all of Japan! I'll be sure to write you down for the mock battles once I get back in the room. They're scheduled to be right after school, at three-thirty," Mrs. Cho said.

The final bell of the day finally rang much to Sakura's relief. She had been tense all day in anticipation for the mock battle later on. Shun had no clue who she would be up against nor if she would do well or fall flat on her face. Other students were allowed to come and watch the mock battles. They let them watch so they could learn from the battle, but most people just came to watch the battle for entertainment.

Shun walked out of the classroom and made her way to the girls locker room to change. Students were allowed to wear whatever they liked for the mock battles as long as it didn't show a vulgar amount of skin. The red-head quickly changed into a tank top and her gym shorts before she left for the school's makeshift battlefield.

On the way out, she ran into Akiko. Sakura had told Kuusuke, Hideko, and Akiko about her plans during lunch. Saying that they were all surprised would be an understatement. Akiko rarely ever talked due to Japanese not being her first language, but she actually expressed her thoughts when Sakura told them about her revelations.

"Good luck out there," Akiko muttered quietly. Shun smiled at the other girl.

"Thank, Akiko," she responded. "I don't have to win, I just don't want to embarrass myself." Shun scratched the back of her head and sighed. She was so nervous about it, but she didn't want to let it show.

"I'm sure you won't," Akiko reassured quietly. The two girls walked out to the makeshift battle field, and they separated as Shun made her way to her spot on the field. Sakura turned her head to see Hideko, Akiko, and Kuusuke in the small bleachers that had been set up. Mrs. Cho was also sitting in the bleachers. Mrs. Cho was the one who supervised the mock battles. Her quirk made it easy for her to stop a fight in just a few seconds.

The red-head turned and looked across the field and gulped when she say who her opponent was. There was Okami Kemona, an energetic girl who had light tan hair with a black outline. She wore baggy, loose clothes for what seemed like no reason, and she had a big, fluffy tail and wolf ears on top of her head. Okami had been doing these mock battles for a while, so she knew what she was doing. Kemona flashed a fanged grin at Shun, slightly unsettling the red-head. Sakura knew nothing about her quirk besides that it was a transformation quirk.

"Alright girls," Mrs. Cho called as she stood up from her seat, "I want a clean fight. The first one to get the other outside of bounds will be declared the winner, and you are allowed to use your quirks. If one of you is injured badly during the fight, then I will stop it immediately. Ready? Fight!"

Kemona and Sakura circled each other, neither one taking their eyes off their opponent. Shun was keeping her guard up in case Kemona made a sudden move. "So," Okami began, grabbing Shun's attention, "why are you suddenly so interested in mock battles?" she asked curiously.

"I realized that I wanted to try to be a hero, but I can't do that without practice," Sakura responded. Kemona was either making small talk, or she was trying to distract Shun.

Kemona's tail began to wag excitedly behind her. "That's really wonderful to hear!" she exclaimed. "But you're still another obstacle for me to overcome," Okami added with a sharp glare and flash of her sharp teeth.

Suddenly, Kemona lunged forward, her teeth bared. Sakura managed to step back just in time to avoid the attack and counter with a weak punch. Okami simply ignored the weak blow and swung her arm into Shun's stomach, knocking the breath out of Sakura. Kemona quickly followed it up with another strong blow, this time to Shun's face. The red-head fell onto her back from the hard blow.

Kuusuke winced at the battle. "Sakura isn't doing too hot," she commented as Shun missed another punch. Akiko muttered her agreement while Hideko sighed.

Sakura felt a trail of blood trickle out of her nose. She wiped it with the back of her hand and took a deep breath. Okami was charging at her again, but this time Shun dodged her successfully. Sakura swung her leg around and swept Kemona's legs out from under her. She fell to the ground with a thump.

Sakura attempted to punch Okami, but the wolf-girl rolled out of the way, causing Sakura to punch the ground instead. Pain shot through her fist, causing her to cry out in pain. "Nice try, Sakura," Kemona said before she hooked her arm around Sakura's torso and tossed her to the side.

Shun pushed herself up and prepared to jump back up when Mrs. Cho said, "Sakura is out of bounds. Kemona is the winner!" She couldn't believe what she was hearing. She expected to lose, but she also expected to perform better than that.

"I guess I've got a long way to go…" Shun muttered as her ears flattened against her head in disappointment.

* * *

 **Alright, I decided to split this across two chapters so I could get it out sooner. Sorry about the battle being a bit rushed. I was having a hard time thinking of a good fight between those two. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the chapter!**


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